Woman Uses Personal Cell Phone and Gets Workers Comp

What some might call distracted driving, the Court of Appeals of Virginia called a valid workers’ compensation claim. As reported at businessinsurance.com, a Virginia hospice nurse glanced at her cell phone while driving. While looking at her phone, she lost control of her vehicle and hit an embankment. She suffered injuries in the wreck, and her employer argued that her injury did not arise from her employment. The appellate court ruled that she was hurt on the job and upheld her workers’ comp award.

The woman was on call for her job when the accident occurred. Her employer provided her a pager, but the pager was not working so she used her personal cell phone as a way for her employer to call her. She was also driving her personal vehicle where she stored work supplies and used routinely to visit patients. Her cell phone rang and she glanced down to see if her employer was calling, and that is when the accident occurred.

The court found that the above facts were sufficient for her injuries to arise from her employment.

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